10-29-2008, 10:53 AM
There are two ways to go with art therapy, at least if your friend wants to become certified. Both paths require a master's degree or master's-level certificate. Your friend can either get an M.A. in art therapy OR get an M.A. in counseling that includes art therapy training (or add that at a later time).
If your friend becomes a licensed counselor who is also art therapy trained, she can do talk therapy in addition to art therapy (and other things that a licensed counselor can do) which opens up some options for her. But in the states I'm familiar with, she can also forego licensing and become a certified art therapist, which is easier in terms of how much you have to juggle during training.
Two organizations offer certification: the American Art Therapy Association (AATA) and the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association. They both have their own detailed criteria covering how much psychology training they require, what kinds of internship you must do, how many studio art hours you need, and what kind of portfolio you need to present. I think the AATA is better known in the US, but I could be wrong.
For ease of knowing what to do next, I recommend your friend take a look at the list of AATA approved graduate programs to see if one is in her area. It's a lot easier if you go through one of their programs, if it is right for her. (I didn't have one that was nearby.)
The nature of this training means that it must be done in-person or in partial residency. Internship is supervised, and usually the candidate must also attend art therapy for a certain number of hours, too.
This is not the only way to combine art and healing, but it is a great one for the right person. I recommend your friend look into it right now so she can start weighing her options.
Good luck!
If your friend becomes a licensed counselor who is also art therapy trained, she can do talk therapy in addition to art therapy (and other things that a licensed counselor can do) which opens up some options for her. But in the states I'm familiar with, she can also forego licensing and become a certified art therapist, which is easier in terms of how much you have to juggle during training.
Two organizations offer certification: the American Art Therapy Association (AATA) and the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association. They both have their own detailed criteria covering how much psychology training they require, what kinds of internship you must do, how many studio art hours you need, and what kind of portfolio you need to present. I think the AATA is better known in the US, but I could be wrong.
For ease of knowing what to do next, I recommend your friend take a look at the list of AATA approved graduate programs to see if one is in her area. It's a lot easier if you go through one of their programs, if it is right for her. (I didn't have one that was nearby.)
The nature of this training means that it must be done in-person or in partial residency. Internship is supervised, and usually the candidate must also attend art therapy for a certain number of hours, too.
This is not the only way to combine art and healing, but it is a great one for the right person. I recommend your friend look into it right now so she can start weighing her options.
Good luck!
Alix
[SIZE="1"]Excelsior College, B.S. in Liberal Studies (awaiting conferral)
Traditional College: 46 credits
Exams taken: 75 credits
May 2008: A&I Literature-78, General Anthropology-70 (A), Info Sys & Comp. Apps-73, American Government-60, Technical Writing-67 (A), Principles of Supervision-65 (A), Fundamentals of Counseling-68 (A), Drug & Alcohol Abuse-66 (A), Principles of Marketing-73
June 2008: Biology-73, MIS-58 (A)
April 2010: Intro to Business-444, Intro to Computers-466, ALEKS Statistics for Behavioral Science
May 2010: Civil War & Reconstruction-70 (A)
June 2010: Intro to Psych-78, Research Methods-A, Intro to Educ. Psych-72, Foundations of Education- (A)
July 2010: World Population-A
August 2010: Abnormal Psychology-A, Social Psychology-A
August 2010: Psychology of Adulthood & Aging-A
[/SIZE]
[SIZE="1"]Excelsior College, B.S. in Liberal Studies (awaiting conferral)
Traditional College: 46 credits
Exams taken: 75 credits
May 2008: A&I Literature-78, General Anthropology-70 (A), Info Sys & Comp. Apps-73, American Government-60, Technical Writing-67 (A), Principles of Supervision-65 (A), Fundamentals of Counseling-68 (A), Drug & Alcohol Abuse-66 (A), Principles of Marketing-73
June 2008: Biology-73, MIS-58 (A)
April 2010: Intro to Business-444, Intro to Computers-466, ALEKS Statistics for Behavioral Science
May 2010: Civil War & Reconstruction-70 (A)
June 2010: Intro to Psych-78, Research Methods-A, Intro to Educ. Psych-72, Foundations of Education- (A)
July 2010: World Population-A
August 2010: Abnormal Psychology-A, Social Psychology-A
August 2010: Psychology of Adulthood & Aging-A
[/SIZE]